Tears of the Heavens
by FlyingLemur
Summary: Complete! A mysterious bounty hunter who serves the Fire Lord. What will happen when his next bounty is the Avatar? Rated T for violence and language. R
1. Prologue

He served only the Fire Lord.

He hunted his prey with extreme efficiency.

He only did it for the money…

…or was it something else?

He was known as Karyuudo.

* * *

He had been hunting his prey for some time when it began to rain. Drops fell from the sky and sunk slowly into the dirt, which became soft as he ran across it. His prey was not too far in front of him; it was running, but he was catching up. He drew a shurikin from his pocket and threw it at his prey; the shurikin stopped in his prey's back, causing it to fall to the slippery mud. He approached his prey and looked down; comparing it the bounty he had received, it was a perfect match. He looked at his bounty and saw that his prey was wanted dead. Screams from the man on the ground below him were heard as he slashed the man several times with his katana. The screams stopped as the katana was sheathed.

* * *

There were other ways to get money.

But this way made him feel good.

He never knew why

He never asked

He did not want to know

* * *

Karyuudo silently picked up the body and walked away through the rain. 


	2. His Next Prey

A hooded man in a black cloak walked through the village. The villagers hid when they saw he was carrying a body. The rain pattered the roofs creating a soothing melody for the stranger as he walked through the village. A calming mood washed over the village as the stranger left the village, hopefully to never come back.

Raindrops hit Karyuudo's cloak, soaking it. He quickened his pace and hoped to get to his destination soon, but the sky lit up; a flash of lighting and the rolling of thunder signaled the approaching storm. He saw a small building up ahead, with smoke coming out of a pipe on the roof. He left the body on the ground next to a tree and walked towards the building. As he approached, he heard many loud voices inside; must be a pub.

The pub silenced when he walked in; everyone stared at him with big, empty eyes; their faces looked at him with worry. Karyuudo walked up to the manager and asked with a deep voice, "Got any rooms?"

The manager looked at a young man who was sitting at a table; he was shaking his head. The manager looked back at Karyuudo and said, "Sorry, sir, we're all out."

Karyuudo took his hood off; his face was almost fully covered with black cloth, as black as his cloak and the rest of his clothes. Only his eyes were exposed, revealing their golden color. He glared at the manager with a deep hatred. Steam escaped the cloth covering his mouth and nose. He pulled his hands out of his cloak; the right hand was covered in a black glove, while the left was bare and pale. When he cracked his knuckles, the manager finally said, "Alright, we have a couple of rooms. Five copper pieces for the night."

Karyuudo handed the manager five copper pieces and said, "Thank you."

"The rooms are in the back," the manager said in an uneasy tone. His hand shook, causing the copper pieces to jingle. Karyuudo smiled under his mask walked to his room.

* * *

Prince Zuko woke up to a loud yelling noise. He quickly got dressed and ran towards the sound. His uncle and a wounded soldier were in the hallway. "What happened here?" asked Zuko.

The soldier weakly raised his head and said, "Sir, there was some kind of ninja. It attacked us and ran; the other soldiers followed."

"You'd better go too, Prince Zuko," said Uncle Iroh.

Zuko nodded and ran down the halls, following the sound of fire. As he ran, he saw a few soldiers strewn about the hallway. He reached the deck and saw a person dressed in all black running towards the end of the ship. A single soldier tried to stop the intruder, but was thrown overboard. Zuko ran after it, but he was too late. The intruder jumped off of the ship. As it fell into the water, the intruder turned in the air, showing Zuko the same mask he had worn; the mask of the Blue Spirit. Rain began to patter the metal of the ship as Zuko stood on the deck, staring across the sea towards the approaching island.

* * *

Karyuudo woke early in the morning to the sound of a crow. He saw his crow, Karasu, sitting in the window sill, squawking at him. He got out of bed, put his cloak on, and left the building. The sun shined through the few clouds in the sky, illuminating the wet landscape around him. He found the body where he left it; now it was soaked and had an awful stench. He picked it up and continued to his destination, while Karasu flew above his head, his black feathers shining in the sunlight.

When he passed over the hill, he finally saw his destination: the capital of the Fire Nation, huge city that looked like any other, except for the huge palace in the center. Tall walls guarded the city from the outer world, and guarded the outer world from the city. He walked down the hill and arrived at one of the city gates. A masked guard saw him and demanded, "State your name and business."

Karyuudo dropped the body at the guard's feet and handed him the bounty. The guard looked at the picture and the body and said, "You must be Karyuudo. Continue." He took the bounty and body back and continued into the city as the gate rose to let him in.

* * *

Fire Lord Ozai watched his guard walk into the throne room and approach him. "Lord Ozai, Karyuudo wishes to see you," said the guard.

"Let him in," replied Lord Ozai.

The guard bowed and left the room; shortly after, Karyuudo entered. He dropped the body on the floor and handed the bounty to the Fire Lord. Ozai looked at the bounty and the body, then he said, "Excellent job, Karyuudo. You will be rewarded on your way out. Now, I believe you're ready for a real bounty."

Karyuudo bowed before his lord and said, "Yes, my Lord, I am ready."

Ozai smiled and said, "Excellent." He cleared his throat and said, "Due to the recent failure of Admiral Zhao, a very valuable prisoner has escaped. He told me it was a minor slip-up, but I do not believe him. I trust that you can accomplish this task." He got up and handed a scroll to Karyuudo. "You are dismissed." Karyuudo got up and left the throne room. As he walked back out through the halls of the grand palace, he opened the scroll and looked at his next prey. The top of the scroll read, "Wanted alive: Avatar."


	3. The Journey Begins

Karyuudo collected his reward from the guards outside of the throne room; he received 200 gold pieces, an un-worthy prize in his eyes, as it took two weeks to track down the location of his prey. As he walked back through the city, he heard a familiar voice say, "You weren't goin' to leave without sayin' goodbye, were ya?" Karyuudo turned around and saw Haruki. He was an inventor a bit older than Karyuudo, with grey hair; he wore regular Fire Nation clothes that any citizen would wear. He always supplied Karyuudo with the latest weaponry. Haruki grabbed the bounty scroll from him and looked at it. "The Avatar, eh?" he said, "Finally, the Fire Lord gives you somethin' worthy of a hunt."

Karyuudo took the scroll back and replied, "I'd really better be going."

"Well, you know nothin' about your bounty, and yer not properly supplied. Come on in!" Haruki led Karyuudo into his home. It was a bare room, but his real space was in the basement. They walked down a flight of stairs into a large room, filled with tables full of weapons, scrolls, and money. "You're goin' to need somethin' good to get the Avatar…alive. I've got yer ideal weapon right here." He searched around the various tables for whatever weapon he was talking about.

"So, you know where the Avatar is?" asked Karyuudo.

"Yes, I was just informed of an escape," replied Haruki as he continued his search, "Admiral Zhao…"

"Admiral?"

"Yes, he's been promoted. Anyway, he had the Avatar as a prisoner, but some thief came an' broke him out! They escaped just in time."

"Where was this?"

"North of Ba Sing Sei," he paused and picked up a box, "Ah, 'ere it is!" He handed the box over to Karyuudo. "Well, open it!"

Karyuudo nodded and took a strange weapon out of the box. It was crafted from a fine wood and metal in a cross shape. There was a stretchable string on one end, and the longer end was a handle. A small shaft on the top was holding an arrow in place, and the string was locked onto the end of the arrow, ready to launch it. "What is it?" he asked.

Haruki smiled and said, "I call it a crossbow. You load the arrow into the shaft on top, makin' sure the string is pulled back all the way. Then ya pull back this trigger right 'ere," he pointed to a small trigger on the bottom near the middle of the weapon, "An' it launches the arrow with greater accuracy an' force. Try it out!"

Karyuudo held up the crossbow in front of his face. Using the shaft as an aimer, he aimed at the metal wall; he then pulled the trigger, and suddenly the arrow flew into the wall at an incredibly high speed. There was a dent where the arrow bounced off of the wall, which was now on the ground broken into two pieces from the impact.

"Yer gonna need this too," said Haruki as he handed Karyuudo a quiver full of arrows.

"Thanks," replied Karyuudo as he began to walk out, but Haruki stopped him.

"An' some of these!" he gave Karyuudo a few metal shurikins.

"Thanks." He continued to walk out.

"An' this." Haruki gave a bag of smoke bombs.

"Is that all?"

"Yep."

Karyuudo nodded and left Haruki's house with his new equipment. He put the quiver over his back, the shurikins in his pocket, and he placed his crossbow on his right leg. When he exited the city, Karasu came down from the sky and perched on his shoulder.

* * *

Karyuudo reached the coast just before dusk, in a small merchant town with several piers. There were no inns, so he would have to find a good ship. He saw a pretty small wooden one and knew that there would not be many people aboard. He silently walked up the ramp and into the boat. When he got inside, he looked around and noticed that he was in a room full of various merchandise: weapons, food, scrolls, art, and much more. "Well, what do you want?" said a voice from the darkness.

Karyuudo saw a man with matching clothes and hat, and a reptilian bird on his shoulder; it squawked at Karasu, who squawked back. "Go," said Karyuudo, and Karasu flew out of the ship and back into the sky. "I was just looking to buy something."

"Well, you've found the right place. Look around!"

He nodded and looked around a bit. When the man turned his back, Karyuudo quickly threw a shurikin at him. He missed, and it killed the reptilian bird instead. The man turned around and drew a sword, "So, you're here to kill me?"

Karyuudo drew a katana from the sheath strapped to his left leg. Three more strangely dressed men ran into the room, with weapons raised. "I hate pirates," said Karyuudo as he threw a smoke bomb down, caused the whole room to become full of smoke. He rushed out of the room onto the outer deck of the boat; the pirates followed him. He kicked one overboard immediately and pushed another one back into the wall. The third minor pirate rushed at him with a club, but Karyuudo dodged the swipe and spun around, cutting the pirate's lower back.

The pirate cried out in pain and fell to the deck, holding his back. The leader rushed Karyuudo, who block the sword with his katana. They took a few more clashes before they stood on the deck, staring at each at each other and breathing deeply. The pirate noticed steam coming from Karyuudo's nose before he rushed and jabbed with his sword. Karyuudo dodged the blow and ran a short distance from pirate. He sheathed his katana and drew out his crossbow. As the pirate rushed him again, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and loaded the crossbow. A split second before the sword hit Karyuudo's face, he pulled the trigger and sent the arrow straight into the pirate's chest.

The pirate staggered backwards until he fell overboard too. Karyuudo raised the ramp of the ship and sailed away from the town, towards the last sighting place of the Avatar. He found a small bedroom and took of his cloak and weapons, then lay down in the bed and tried to fall asleep.

He had been lying in bed for an hour when the rain started. The sound of rain or any other form of running water always calmed him down; it created a soothing melody that helped him get to sleep.

* * *

Review Response:

forgetfulallthetime - Thank you! Yep, you're supposed to think he's a scary guy.

StreetCornerProphet - Okay, I'll keep writing! Thank you!

For those who are also reading "Advent", I'm working on the next chapter of that, but I had a writer's block moment and got stuck on it, so it might take awhile to post the next chapter on that one.


	4. The Girl

"Yoshi, wake up."

Karyuudo opened his eyes and got up. The rain had stopped and there was sunlight coming through the window. He put his gear back on, found something to eat, and then walked out onto the deck. There was a small telescope sitting on a table. He picked it up and looked at the sea around him. He had been looking for about ten minutes when he saw something in the sky above; a flying bison. Karyuudo quickly pulled out the scroll and looked at the rest of the information; sure enough, it said that the Avatar was riding a flying bison, and was traveling with two companions from the Southern Water Tribe. He looked at the bison again and saw three passengers sitting on it. "Finally."

* * *

At the same time, Zuko was looking into the sky with his telescope aboard his ship. He saw the Avatar's bison and order, "There! Follow that bison!" He looked at the ocean surface and saw a small wooden ship with a man in black standing aboard; the man was looking through a telescope at the Avatar. "Who is that?" he asked.

* * *

Karyuudo saw the ship through his telescope, and the banished prince who was aboard. "So, he's hunting my prey too?" He went over to the sails and turned them a bit so that he was heading towards Prince Zuko's ship.

* * *

Zuko noticed that the stranger had shifted his direction towards his own ship. "Guards, get ready! Someone's coming!" The guards looked with Zuko at the small ship and laughed. "You remember what the Avatar did the first time we encountered?" asked Zuko, "Do not under-estimate this man!"

The guards nodded and ran off to get everyone ready.

* * *

Karyuudo loaded an arrow into the crossbow. He got a rope from a storage room and tied one end to the arrow and the other end around a mast on the ship. When the two ships came close, he pulled the trigger; the arrow flew quickly past Prince Zuko's head and into the ship's control room, where it got stuck on something and stayed. Karyuudo began to cross the rope to the prince's ship.

* * *

"Burn this rope!" Zuko ordered as he began to try and burn it. Two guards came and helped him, but the rope was still holding. The stranger jumped onto the deck, with a strange weapon in his hands. It fired an arrow, which went straight through one guard's head. Zuko stood ready in a firebender position.

* * *

Karyuudo stood aiming the crossbow at Prince Zuko. They both stood there silently, while guards stood at the sidelines, watching and waiting. "Prince Zuko, I presume?" said Karyuudo.

"Who are you? Why are you after the Avatar?" asked Zuko.

He lied, "I don't have a name. I'm here to help you catch the Avatar."

"Help me?"

"Yes. I have been tracking you for awhile, trying to catch up with you. You're going to need someone like me to catch the Avatar, Prince Zuko."

"You're lying!"

"I'm your only chance at catching him."

Zuko resumed a relaxed position and ordered, "Guards, search him." Several guards approached Karyuudo, but he raised his crossbow and fired an arrow at another guard, killing him. The rest stepped back.

"Want to lose another?" asked Karyuudo as he loaded another arrow.

Zuko gritted his teeth in anger and ordered, "At ease." The guards retreated even more away from Karyuudo. "So, you're here to help me?"

Before Karyuudo could answer, a soldier looking through the telescope shouted, "Sir, the Avatar has just landed on the island up ahead."

"Prepare to land on the shore!" Zuko turned back to Karyuudo and said, "If you don't have a name, then what should I call you?"

"Everyone calls me Karyuudo."

"Fine."

* * *

When the ship landed on the shore and the ramp came smashing down on the beach, Zuko and his personal army came walking down. Karyuudo followed them onto the beach. "Alright, Karyuudo. Me and my men will search the west side of the island, while you search the east side," said Zuko.

Karyuudo nodded and walked down the beach towards the east. Zuko and his men walked in the opposite direction. Karasu came from the sky, gleaming in the sunlight. He always followed Karyuudo, and always got food. Karyuudo gave his raven a rat from his pocket; the bird flew into the trees to eat his lunch.

The sound of the waves calmed Karyuudo down, and a gentle breeze blew through the trees and tossed the sand into the air. His boots made a soft crunching noise as he walked across the sand. He entered the quiet woods and continued his search. Green shadows fell over the dirt and rocks on the ground, and a pond gleamed in the light up ahead. He walked past the pond and deeper into the woods, when he heard a cry for help. Karyuudo followed the sound through the woods; it got louder as he walked, then ran.

Karyuudo came upon a pit in a clearing. He looked down and saw a girl sitting at the bottom. She looked up and saw him, then shouted, "Hey! Help me!" Karyuudo pulled out his scroll and looked at it. A description of one of the Avatar's companions matched the girl in the pit; he could probably use her to get to the Avatar. He let down a rope for the girl to climb up; as she climbed up, he held it, which was easy because of her light weight.

The girl got out of the pit and lay on the ground. Karyuudo's eyes grew wider when he saw her face; she reminded him of someone who he had lost: his mother.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She girl opened her eyes and replied, "Katara. Who are you?"

"Call me Karyuudo. What were you doing out here?"

Katara noticed his golden eyes and said, "Fire Nation! Aang, Sokka, help!"

"Quiet!" he said; then he made up yet another story, "I'm here to stop Prince Zuko. He's on this island as well. I've been following him, trying to stop him. I believe with the Avatar's help, I'll have a chance."

She looked at him strangely, "How do you know about the Avatar?"

"I know Prince Zuko has been chasing him. The Avatar must be on this island if he stopped here. I also know the Avatar has two companions; you must be one of them."

"Yeah, but I still don't trust you."

A fireball flew out of the trees; Karyuudo blocked it with his cloak and saw the soldier who sent it at him. Three soldiers came out of the woods around them; now they were surrounded. Katara looked frantically and said, "I lost my water pouch!"

Karyuudo stood up and drew his crossbow out; he loaded and arrow and fired at a soldier's glowing hand, which was now pinned against a tree. The soldier used his free hand to fire a shot at them. Karyuudo protected himself and Katara with the cloak. He quickly fired another arrow, killing the soldier. "Run!" he shouted to Katara. She got up and ran from the battle.

Karyuudo finished off a soldier with a shurikin and sliced a third with his katana; only one more left. He ducked from another blast and rolled over to the final soldier, then stood up and kicked the soldier into the pit. His shouts were heard as Karyuudo walked away.

"Katara!" called Karyuudo. The girl stepped out from behind a tree and asked, "Were those Zuko's men?"

"Probably," he answered, "I knew I couldn't trust him!"

"What?"

"I made a false deal with him, hoping that he would trust me and I could trick him later. He'll know when his soldiers don't return."

"We've got to find Aang and Sokka! They could be in danger!"

"Aang?"

"The Avatar."

Karyuudo nodded and followed her back to the Avatar's camp. She looked back at him and said, "Why did you try so hard to protect me? You don't seem like the type to care about other people."

He merely said, "I don't," and continued following her.

Before they could find her friends, they were ambushed by Zuko and the rest of his men. "What are you doing with her?" asked Zuko, "She should be a hostage, not a friend! Grab her!" Two soldiers advanced towards Katara, but Karyuudo stepped in front of her. "You traitor!" shouted Zuko.

"Prince Zuko, I was never with you!" replied Karyuudo, "I was trying to trick you!"

"You're after the Avatar, but you're trying to take him for yourself!" shouted the prince.

Katara looked at Karyuudo with a confused face. He ignored her and said, "I'm here to help the Avatar!"

Zuko tackled the bounty hunter and found the scroll; he grabbed it as Karyuudo threw him off. "Let's see what I have!" He opened the scroll and examined it; the prince held it up and said, "I knew it: it's a bounty!"

Katara saw the picture of Aang and quietly said, "No…"

"Grab the girl and kill the hunter!" Zuko ordered his men.

More soldiers advanced towards them. Karyuudo drew his katana and started fighting. He got two soldiers before his katana was kicked out his hands by Zuko. He dodged another kick but jumped into a fireball. He yelled in agony as the fire roasted his skin beneath his now burned clothes. One soldier grabbed Katara and began tying her up. Karyuudo got up and tackled the soldier, then grabbed Katara and carried her away from the enemy.

"Get them!" shouted Zuko. His remaining soldiers chased after Karyuudo.

Karyuudo remembered his smoke bombs and threw a few down. The forest behind him became a smoky mess as he changed direction and ran.

He came into a clearing when he realized that he lost the soldiers. He set Katara down on the ground. "Tell me the truth!" she shouted as she tried to get free of the ropes.

"Quiet down. I don't want them to find us."

She did what he said and whispered, "Why did you help me? Aren't you trying to catch Aang?"

"That's what the Fire Lord ordered me to do," replied Karyuudo.

"You're working for the Fire Lord?" asked Katara with a surprised face, "But why?"

"He pays the most."

"That can't be the true reason. You're not a heartless jerk who only cares about money, or else you wouldn't have saved me. Why did you?"

"You remind me of someone," he said quietly.

"Who?"

He paused before saying, "My mother."

"You sound sad? What happened to her?" Katara thought she saw a tear come from his eye as he replied.

"I killed her."


	5. The Storm

"I killed her."

Katara's eyes widened and she began squirming, trying to get loose of the ropes. "You killed you own mother? You sick bastard!"

Karyuudo stood up, towering over her.

"Aang! Sokka! Help!" she screamed. Her voice echoed through the forest.

He grabbed her by the collar and held her up so they were face-to-face. "Cooperate, and I won't hurt you," he told her. Karyuudo pulled out a knife and held it to her neck.

Sweat dripped down her face as she replied, "Alright, but could you please untie me?"

"No, you'll just try to escape." He put his knife away then carried her through the woods over his shoulder.

* * *

"Sir, I believe we've lost him," noted a soldier.

Zuko's face twisted with anger and flames shot out of his hands. "Damn it!" He sighed and paused before saying, "Spread out and search the woods."

"Yes, sir!" His remaining soldiers went into the woods in all directions.

Zuko sat down on a fallen trunk and calmed down.

* * *

It was now raining, and her clothes were soaked. Karyuudo's cloak kept him dry, but his boots were muddy. He nearly slipped a couple times, but he managed to keep his feet grounded. He looked up into the sky and saw Karasu flying above, looking down at them.

"Please let me go," said Katara.

He looked down from his raven friend at Katara, "You and I both know that's not going to happen."

Katara sighed and stopped talking. Karyuudo continued to carry her through the woods. She suddenly sprouted an idea in her head; she shifted her position and bit his shoulder. He yelled in pain as she began to hop away, quite difficult with her ankles tied together.

Karyuudo pulled out his crossbow and loaded an arrow. As she passed by a tree, he fired; the arrow pinned the tail of her robe to the tree trunk, allowing him to catch up to her.

She eventually ripped a piece of the robe of, allowing her to continue her escape, but it was too late; he already grabbed her and threw her down on the ground. He kneeled down on one knee next to her and said, "Next time you do that, I'll give you a permanent injury." His gaze loosened when he saw tears running down her cheeks; he closed his eyes and held back the memories.

Katara sniffled and tried to hold back the tears; she did not want Karyuudo to think that she was weak; she had to be brave. The tears and rain stopped flowing at once. He opened his eyes and looked at her with his shining eyes.

Karyuudo pulled out his knife. When Katara saw this, her eyes widened. He raised the knife and brought it down quickly, cutting the rope holding her wrists together. Then he proceeded to cutting the ropes around her ankles.

"What are you doing?" asked Katara.

"Just go."

"What?"

"Go!" he shouted.

Katara looked him in the eyes. He looked back and said, "Listen, girl."

"It's Katara."

"Whatever…if you leave now, I won't have to hurt you. Now go, before I change my mind."

Katara was about to walk away when a fireball hit her; she cried out and fell to the ground. Karyuudo looked at her; his face twisted with anger and steam escaped his mask. He got up and faced the source of the fireball: Zuko.

Karyuudo stood over the injured Katara and drew his katana. Zuko raised his arms, ready for battle. They charged at each other but someone jumped in between them; they were knocked down with a powerful blast of air.

"Katara!" said the new attacker.

Karyuudo looked up and saw a small monk with an arrow on his head; it was the Avatar. The boy did not get a response from Katara.

Zuko got up and kicked a blast of fire at the Avatar, who dodged the blast and hit Zuko with a staff.

While they were fighting, Karyuudo got up and ran over to Katara. Her clothes were burned and part of her face was red from the heat. She was silent, but Karyuudo knew she was alive from her pulse.

* * *

Zuko fought the Avatar through the forest until they eventually reached a cliff that led to the ocean. The Avatar pushed Zuko back until he was at the edge of the cliff. Zuko looked down at the waves splashing up against a field of sharp rocks at the water's surface.

"You shouldn't have hurt Katara like that! You're a monster!" said the Avatar.

Zuko tried to lie, "It wasn't me! I was trying to protect her from that man in black."

"I saw the whole thing! You burned her with the fireball!" He charged at Zuko.

Zuko tried jumping out of the way but the Avatar pushed him over the edge with a blast. He fell over the edge and down into the water below.

As Zuko fell, the bounty came drifted back onto the cliff and landed next to the Avatar's feet. He opened the bounty and looked at it for awhile, then put it away and hurried back to Katara.

* * *

"Don't you dare hurt my sister!" yelled a boy as he jumped out of a tree and landed next to Karyuudo.

"Stop! I'm not going to hurt her!" replied Karyuudo.

"Yes you will! I found this!"

Karyuudo looked up at the Avatar, who was holding his bounty.

"I knew Zuko wouldn't need this, so it must belong to you!" said the Avatar.

"I knew it!" Katara's brother added.

Katara opened her eyes and said, "No…he saved me earlier."

The Avatar and the other boy looked confused.

"He protected me from Zuko."

"It's true, I did protect her," said Karyuudo.

"Well, I'm not going to let you just take me!" said Aang, about to rip the bounty.

Karasu flew down from the sky and snatched the bounty. He flew over and gave it to Karyuudo, who tucked it safely away in his shirt.

Katara tried to get up, but she had to get help from the Avatar and her brother.

Karyuudo said, "I'll go now." He walked away from the others, and did not bother to look back. Karasu perched on his shoulder the whole way, and it began to rain again.

* * *

Zuko opened his eyes and sat up; he was in the middle of the woods, under a tree, safe from the rain. His soaked shirt and armor was on the ground next to him, and there were bloody bandages wrapped around his chest and arms. There was someone sitting outside in the rain, dressed in a black ninja suit; on the ground next to the person was a mask, the Blue Spirit.

"You're the one from my ship! You stole my suit!" shouted Zuko.

The person put on the mask and walked over to Zuko. "I see you're awake." The voice was female.

"A girl? Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm the person who just saved your life." She sounded as if she was in her late twenties, but he could not tell for sure.

Zuko made a move to pull off her mask but she jumped away from him, out into the rain again.

"We will meet again, but next time, we won't be alone."

She ran off into the woods, her footsteps matching the sound of the rain hitting the leaves of the trees, leaving Zuko alone.

* * *

Karyuudo sat underneath a tree, a weak shelter from the rain. He had just realized that his ship was still out at sea. It was probably destroyed now from the storm. Prince Zuko's ship was still on the other side of the island, but he did not want to interfere with the prince again. He tried to let the rain wash away the thoughts and memories, but he was interrupted by shouting.

Through the darkness of the late evening, he made out a huge ship coming towards the island. It stopped on the beach and the ramp came crashing down onto the sand. A man came down riding on a komodo rhino, being followed by his personal army. Karyuudo hid, but when the man got close enough, he recognized the face of Admiral Zhao.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Wow, still only two reviewers?

forgetfulallthetime – Well…here it is. (lol)

StreetCornerProphet – Thanks!

Come on people, I'm sure I didn't get 135 hits from just those two!


	6. A Bad Memory

Zuko put his shirt and armor back on and stood up. The now dark woods of the evening were occasionally lit up by lighting, but with the storm clouds blocking the moon, there was no other source of light. He created a small flame in his hands for light, and sheltered it from the rain as he walked through the woods in search of his ship.

There was the clinking of boots walking; Zuko thought it was his own soldiers, but then he saw Zhao riding a komodo rhino. Zuko ducked behind a tree and extinguished his fire; he hid from them as they passed by.

When they were far enough, he created the flame again and ran through the woods, hopefully to find his ship and men.

* * *

Karyuudo hid in a bush from the soldiers who grouped onto the beach. They stood in a line, listening to a higher ranking soldier. The soldiers took their superior's orders and went off to search the island, leaving the high-ranking soldier alone on the beach. Karyuudo pulled out his crossbow, loaded an arrow, and aimed for the soldier's back. Before he could fire, there was a sudden whip of air and sound. An arrow had appeared on his crossbow, pinning his finger to his own weapon.

As he tried to pull the arrow out, he saw an archer with a strange blue mask standing on the ship's deck. The archer loaded another arrow and aimed for Karyuudo. He held up his bag of smoke bombs in front of his face right before the arrow hit. The arrow pierced a bomb, causing it too explode into a puff of smoke. The rest of the bombs exploded in a chain reaction, and Karyuudo used this smokescreen to escape from the archer.

Karyuudo pulled the arrow out of the crossbow and his bloody finger and threw it down as he ran. He jumped into another bush and checked his equipment; besides his constantly depleting supply of arrows, he had his knife and katana; he was all out of shurikins and smoke bombs. As the rain fell, its melody relaxed Karyuudo. He did not realize he was so exhausted until his eyes began to close.

He quietly fell asleep to the melody of the rain.

* * *

A young boy of age thirteen with black hair tied in a pony tail and pale skin walked down the road back to his home. His name was Yoshi. He was happy, as he had just discovered of his powers, with the help of his friends; he now knew he was a firebender. No longer would the kids make fun of him and the other kids who could not bend.

Yoshi was with his friends Amarante and Kaemon just an hour ago. Kaemon was a firebender with the same features as Yoshi, except he was taller. Amarante was shorter than the other two, and she was not a firebender. Kaemon was intent on finding out if Yoshi was a firebender.

"Come on," he said, "You can't do this?" A small flame shot out of his hand and burned a falling leaf before it hit the ground.

"I'm telling you," replied Yoshi, "I'm not a firebender!"

Kaemon sighed; he had been trying to find out if Yoshi was a firebender for a week. "Well," he said, "I'm not going to give up!"

"You spent a month trying to find out if I was a firebender," said Amarante, "And you were wrong…like you usually are." She let out a slight giggle.

"I'll spend a month on Yoshi if I have to!"

Yoshi sighed and said, "Please…don't."

"I will!" yelled Kaemon, "I promise! I will stay by your side the whole next month, trying to unlock your firebending!"

"Just leave him alone!" yelled Amarante, "He's asked you to five times today!"

"Shut up!" yelled Kaemon as he shoved her back.

"Leave her alone!" shouted Yoshi.

Kaemon and Amarante were staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You…you…"

"You just shot fire!" said Kaemon, "I was right!"

"Finally…" said Amarante under her breath.

Yoshi looked at his hands, which were smoking from the blast, and smiled.

Now he was walking home, to tell his mother and sister of the great news. He felt powerful now that he knew he was a firebender. If his dad was still alive, he would be proud. Yoshi walked into his house and was immediately greeted by his little sister, Aiko.

"What took you so long?" asked Aiko, her golden eyes shining in the sun. She was much shorter than him and was four years younger.

"I'm a firebender!"

Aiko's jaw dropped. "Really?"

"Yes! This is the greatest day of my life! Where's mother?"

"She's behind the house hanging up the laundry."

He smiled and rushed out to where his mother was.

"Hey mother, guess what?" he said.

"What is it, dear?" she replied.

"I found out I'm a firebender!"

His mother dropped the shirt she was about to hang. She turned around to him and said, "That's great! I always thought your father was going to be the last one in our family, but now I know that you have it!"

"I know! This is great!" replied Yoshi.

"Can you show me some?"

"Um…I guess." Yoshi tried to shoot fire from his hands but failed. It was difficult because he was not properly trained. He did not know anything about firebending. He stood there for two minutes trying to summon flames.

His mother sighed, "You're just pulling my leg."

"No!" he replied, "It's true!"

"Yoshi, just let me finish the laundry."

"No! It's true!" his voice began to raise with anger, "It's true! I know it's true!" As he waved his arms around in frustration, fire began to fly out of them. Eventually, he was in the middle of a cloud of fire and smoke. He heard his mother scream and tried to find her. Her horrible screams rang in his ears. Yoshi began to cry as he tried to find his mother. He eventually made his way out of the flames, and on the ground next to him was his mother, burned alive.

Yoshi ran away, crying the whole way, while his sister had been watching the whole thing. He eventually fell down in the middle of the road and continued crying. A familiar and calming voice said, "What's wrong, Yoshi?"

He looked up and saw his friend, Amarante standing above him. Yoshi got up and backed away from her.

"What's wrong?" she asked again.

"Stay away from me!" he replied.

"Why?"

"I'm a monster!"

"No your not!" she began to cry at the sight of his tears, "What makes you say that?"

"I killed her…"

"What?"

"I killed her!" Flames sprouted around Yoshi and he ran away. Amarante coughed and waved away the smoke. Yoshi was already too far away for her to catch up. "Yoshi!" She looked at the ground and let her tears fall as she walked back to her home.

When he was far enough away from his village, he sat down against a tree and tried to calm down. On the ground next to him was a wounded raven. He picked it up and cradled it. As his tears fell to the ground, it started raining. The sound of the rain created a melody that helped him fall asleep, cradling the wounded raven in his hands.

* * *

Karyuudo woke up; he noticed that it was still dark, so it must have not been long since he fell asleep. He looked down at his hands at Karasu, whose feathers gleamed in the moonlight. The storm had already gone past the island, letting the moonlight illuminate it. He stood up and walked out of the bush he hid in. Karasu woke up and jumped up onto Karyuudo's shoulder, where he perched for awhile.

Karyuudo walked off into the woods to find Katara. He had to make sure she was safe.

* * *

When Zuko arrived at his ship, it was nearly destroyed. Many of his soldiers were spread out along the beach, while the others were recovering on the deck of the ship. He ran up the ramp to his uncle and asked, "What happened?"

"Admiral Zhao came, demanding the Avatar," said Iroh, "He almost destroyed the entire ship, but fortunately he left before he could."

Steam poured out of Zuko's nose, mouth, and hands. He tried to hold back the flames but they came out anyway, nearly burning his uncle.

"Prince Zuko, try to control your anger."

"I can't!" yelled Zuko, "I'm going to get revenge on him!"

"Now is not the time. Most of the men are injured."

"Most of the men are dead, uncle!"

Iroh sighed and closed his eyes. Zuko stormed back down the ramp and across the beach. "Zhao is going to pay for this…"

* * *

Karyuudo quickened his pace when he heard Katara's voice. He found her in a burnt section of the woods fighting off a group of soldiers with a whip of water. He jumped out into the clearing with his katana and helped her out. When the last soldier fell to the ground, he turned to her and asked, "Where's the Avatar and your brother?"

"It's you…" she said.

"Well, I don't have a way off of this island. Now where are they?"

"I don't know. Everything was covered in a smoke and I could barely breathe. We must have gotten separated."

"Come with me, I'll help you find them." He took her arm and pulled her along through the woods until they heard shouting.

"Katara!"

"Katara!"

Katara smiled and said, "That's them!" She got loose of his arm and ran up ahead. "Aang! Sokka!"

"Katara, where are you?"

"I'm right here!"

Karyuudo caught up with Katara as she ran through the woods, following the voices. "Guys, I'm over here!"

The Avatar jumped out of a bush, shortly followed by Katara's brother. "Katara, you're safe!" said Aang as he ran up to her and hugged her.

"Can we get out of here?" said her brother. He looked at Karyuudo and added, "What's he doing here?"

"Sokka, he helped me again! He's not a murderer!"

"You're wrong, Katara," said Karyuudo, "I am; but that doesn't mean that I can't help people too. Do you guys have a way off of this island?"

"Appa," said the Avatar, "My flying bison!"

"Where is it?" asked Karyuudo.

"Hold on!" The boy pulled out a whistle and blew it, but no sound came out. "Don't worry, it works. We just can't hear it." He smiled and put it away.

"Right…"

"There they are!" said a deep voice.

They all turned around and saw Zhao and his soldiers. Zhao looked at Karyuudo and asked, "Who are you?"

Karyuudo did not reply; instead, he pulled out the bounty for the Avatar and held it up for all to see.

"Well," said Zhao with a smirk, "You're doing a great job so far."

Karyuudo raised his crossbow at Zhao's head. Before he could fire, an arrow whizzed past his head. He looked back to where the arrow went and saw that it had hit Karasu. His raven was now twitching, pinned against a tree trunk. Karyuudo's hands clenched into fists and his face twisted from anger behind his mask. The archer stepped out of the shadows, wearing a ninja suit and the blue mask; the Blue Spirit.

"At first I thought this was the thief from my fortress," said Zhao, "But then she told me the whole story, of how Prince Zuko wore that suit and rescued the Avatar."

At that moment Zuko jumped out of the bushes. Now they were all there. Everyone's prize was right in front of them: the Avatar. Then Karasu stopped twitching, and everything was silent for a few moments.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Longest chapter yet! And two new reviewers:

midianek – Yep, I like making OCs.

Hotspur – Originality is what I do! To all people reading this, thank you for reading a non-Zutara story!


	7. Final Conflict

Zhao's soldiers fired first. The whole clearing burst into flames. Karyuudo grabbed Katara and pulled her behind a tree, protecting them from the blast. Aang and Sokka hid behind another tree, but Zuko ran straight towards Zhao. The Blue Spirit loaded her bow with an arrow and took aim at Zuko, but he kicked her down when she fired, causing the arrow to shoot up into the air and disappear. Zhao shot fire at Zuko, but missed. The fireball hit the tree Karyuudo and Katara were hiding behind instead.

"Stay here," Karyuudo told Katara. She nodded and he jumped out into the clearing with his katana drawn. Together, he and Zuko were able to take down all of Zhao's soldiers that were there.

Zuko jumped up and kicked Zhao off of his rhino, which ran away from the fight. Zhao got up and fought back. While they were fighting, the Blue Spirit stood to the side and aimed her bow at Zuko.

Karyuudo tackled the Blue Spirit before she could fire again. He raised his katana and was about to slam it down into her chest when Zuko backed up into him, knocking him over onto the ground.

Zhao stood above them, with his fist aiming at Zuko's head. The Blue Spirit stood beside the admiral and aimed an arrow at Karyuudo's head.

Katara noticed a puddle leftover from the storm and used her water whip to hit Zhao in the face; he fell down and was momentarily blinded.

The Blue Spirit looked up at Katara and almost fired an arrow at her but she stopped. Karyuudo knew this was his chance; he tripped the Blue Spirit and kicked her down onto the ground. He stood over her and prepared to stab.

Zuko got up and went over to Zhao, who was still recovering. He then prepared to burn him.

"Everyone stop!"

They looked over and saw that the Avatar had shouted that.

He continued, "Is killing each other going to solve anything? Can't we resolve this in another way?"

Zuko looked back at Zhao and breathed deeply; he put his arms down and relaxed.

Karyuudo looked at Katara; she was shaking her head and muttering, "Don't do it." He sighed and sheathed his katana.

The Avatar smiled, "There."

Under her mask, the Blue Spirit smiled; she knew this was her chance to strike back, to finally achieve her goal. She drew a katana and jumped to her feet, then prepared to slice Karyuudo.

Katara's eyes widened and she shouted, "Karyuudo, look out!"

When he turned around, all he saw was a flash of silver. The blade sliced through his stomach and he fell to the ground holding the wound. He heard shouting from several people before his vision went black and he passed out.

* * *

When Karyuudo woke up, it was bright. The sun was right above him, so he knew it was the afternoon. He sat up and looked around. There were bandages wrapped around his stomach, which still hurt, and his shirt and cloak were hanging from a branch.

"Feeling better?" said a voice from behind him.

He turned around and saw Katara standing there with a look of hope on her face. "Uh…yeah," he replied.

"Good. Aang and Sokka are packing everything. We're leaving, and you're coming."

"I can't…I can't travel with you."

"Well, you have to get off this island somehow. We'll drop you off at the first stop."

"Fine," Karyuudo tried to stand up.

"Let me help." Katara started to move towards him but he waved her away.

"I got it," he said as he managed to stand up with minor pains. He grabbed his shirt and cloak and put them back on. Then he asked, "So, where's everyone else?"

"I think Prince Zuko left, he didn't want to fight. As for Zhao and the ninja, they might still be here."

"Where are my weapons?" asked Karyuudo.

"They're right over there," she pointed to his weapons. He walked over and put them back on. "Thanks for the save," he said.

Katara was about to say something but was grabbed from behind by the Blue Spirit. A katana rose to her throat. Karyuudo began to move but the Blue Spirit said, "Don't move or the girl dies."

Karyuudo looked at the fear in Katara's eyes and a single drop a sweat running down the side of her head. He had no choice but to stop and hope Aang or Sokka could come in; but they did not. "What do you want?" he asked the Blue Spirit.

"Your life. It's time for you to die," she replied.

Katara tried to break free but the katana only pressed harder against her neck.

"Why do you want to kill me so bad?"

"To avenge the death of one of your victims. You've killed too many people, now it's time that someone kills you."

Karyuudo stared at the mask for awhile, thinking deeply. Then he realized something. He took a step towards the Blue Spirit.

"Stop!" she yelled, "You'd better stop!"

He continued walking towards her, each step advancing him a couple feet.

"Stop!"

He continued walking. The katana pressed harder against Katara's neck, but still did not wound her.

"Stop or the girl dies!"

When he was close enough, he pulled out his knife and threw it. It hit the mask of the Blue Spirit and knocked her down. Katara felt the grip loosen and ran up to Karyuudo.

"Get out of here!" he told her. She nodded and ran to where Aang and Sokka were.

The Blue Spirit got up; her mask now had a dent in it. "You got lucky," she said.

"Right…luck…" Karyuudo pulled out his katana and raised it in front of him. The Blue Spirit raised her katana and charged towards him. The katanas hit, creating a loud noise that scared off all the birds of the forest; a loud wave of birds left, then everything was silent as the katanas were held against each other.

"Why don't you use your firebending now?" asked the Blue Spirit.

"I don't need it," replied Karyuudo.

"You sure?"

Karyuudo moved his katana and ran up to her; he thrust the katana towards her gut, but she dodged and managed to slice his wound. He cried out in pain and kneeled down onto the ground.

"Sad…I thought you would've put up more of a fight," said the Blue Spirit as she raised her katana above Karyuudo's head and prepared to strike.

"So did I," He pulled out his crossbow which was already loaded and aimed it at her head. He fired and the arrow went straight up through her chin and pierced her skull. She fell to the ground with the arrow stuck in her head and stopped moving. Karyuudo leaned over to her mask and pulled it off. He was right: it was his own sister.

Karyuudo sighed and left his katana at her side. He passed the corpse of Karasu, pinned to a tree, on his walk back to Appa. He looked at his old pet one last time before he got to Appa. He walked up Appa's tail and closed his eyes.

"What happened?" asked Katara.

Karyuudo was silent. He didn't even open his eyes.

Aang looked back at him and asked, "You're not going to turn me in are you?"

He took out the bounty and ripped it in half, then threw the halves off of Appa.

Aang looked as the pieces hit the ground. "Alright…hang on. Yip-yip!" Appa took off into the skies and flew away from the island. Karyuudo never looked back.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Sorry for a shorter and kinda rushed chapter. I've got an essay to write and my mom has been bugging me about it. Anyway, this is the last full chapter. Next comes the epilogue, then this story is done.


	8. Epilogue

Appa landed near a town back in the Earth Kingdom. Karyuudo grabbed his things and jumped off of Appa's side. He began to walk away towards the town but stopped when Katara said something to him.

"So, where are you going?" she asked.

"I don't know," replied Karyuudo, "And I don't really care."

"Are you still going to be a bounty hunter?"

He paused then answered, "Probably." He continued walking.

"Why?" she yelled at him as he walked away.

Karyuudo did not reply. Actually, he still did not know why he did it. Maybe it was because if he killed enough people, he would not feel any more remorse; but he still did, and he always will. 


End file.
